Category Archives: Shipping

In view of tremendous potential of cross border trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Shankar Shinde, Chairman Elect, the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) has recommended for seamless multimodal connectivity and strong logistics infrastructure in each of the above countries. Speaking at a webinar on ‘UN TIR System and its benefits of expansion to Bangladesh and other BBIN countries’, which was organised by FICCI in association with IRU Geneva, ICC Bangladesh and FFFAI, Shinde observed that accession to TIR Carnet would be immensely beneficial for the hassle-free cross border trade in this region. It would be pertinent to mention that FFFAI is one of the associates of TIR Carnet and have been working with the Government of India for International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, under TIR Carnet. He also emphasised on well-defined policies to be framed up by the respective governments and well-trained officers including Customs and allied agencies engaged at the border check posts. Based on the INSTC route experience, where FFFAI had launched a trial run of containers, Shinde stated that point to point vehicle movement would be the pragmatic solution instead of re-working of unloading and reloading transshipment, to save cost and reduce dwell time. Accordingly, accession to TIR would expedite the process in this regard. He, however, highlighted various other challenges as regard to cross border cargo transportation, as witnessed in INSTC route. Shinde further suggested that the governments will have to provide more impetus on private logistics companies, NVOCC or multimodal logistics operators’ participation in the BBIN project and also important would be to create a BBIN website portal with complete information for trade participation and addressing issues. …

In a major push and with a vision to achieve seamless trade, new Inter Terminal Route connecting BMCT Terminal with all the other four Container Terminals of JNPT was inaugurated at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The newly inaugurated route will reduce the container movement distance between BMCT and the other JN Port Terminals from the existing 5 kms to 2.5 kms in one direction. This route will be used exclusively for the movement of TP (Transhipment) & ITRHO (Inter Terminal Rail Handling Operation) containers between BMCT and other terminals of JN Port offering a smooth and continuous flow of ITRHO and TP containers. The Inter Terminal Route was inaugurated by Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT in the presence of Unmesh Sharad Wagh, IRS, Deputy Chairman, JNPT and HODs, JNPT Terminal Operators and other stakeholders. Sethi said, “The inauguration of Internal Terminal Route will help in smoothening the overall trade cycle and further enhance our efficiency. It will further streamline the movement of rail containers between BMCT with all the other four Container Terminals at the port. JNPT has also taken various other initiatives under ‘Ease of Doing Business’ that has helped save significant amount of time and cost for the EXIM community.” ITRHO aims to maximise train placement, track productivity, efficiency, cost effective handling, reduce dwell time of import ICD boxes, connecting export ICD boxes to respective terminals in time and also increase rail quotient at JNPT. Trade will be benefitted, as the new route would ensure timely connection of export containers arriving by trains in mixed condition to the particular vessel in any of the terminals and also enhance the train handling time at JN Port. Overall the …

The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is acquiring the 58.1% stake held by DVS Raju and family in Gangavaram Port (GPL). The acquisition is valued at Rs. 3,604 crore and subject to regulatory approvals. APSEZ had announced acquisition of Warburg Pincus’s 31.5 per cent stake in GPL on March 3, 2021 and together with this acquisition, APSEZ would have 89.6 per cent stake in GPL. GPL is located in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh next to Vizag Port. It is the second largest non-major port in Andhra Pradesh with a 64 MMT capacity established under concession from Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) that extends till 2059. It is an all-weather, deep water, multipurpose port capable of handling fully laden super cape size vessels of up to 200,000 DWT. Currently, GPL operates 9 berths and has free hold land of ~1,800 acres. With a master plan capacity for 250 MMTPA with 31 berths, GPL has sufficient headroom to support future growth. The Port handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities including Coal, Iron Ore, Fertilizer, Limestone, Bauxite, Sugar, Alumina, and Steel. GPL is the gateway port for a hinterland spread over 8 states across eastern, southern and central India. GPL will benefit from APSEZ’s pan-India footprint, logistics integration, customer centric philosophy, operational efficiencies and strong balance sheet to deliver a combination of high growth by enhancing market share and add additional cargo types and improved margins and returns. In FY20, GPL had a cargo volume of 34.5 MMT, revenue of Rs. 1,082 crore, EBITDA of Rs. 634 crore (59% margin) and PAT of Rs. 516 crore GPL is debt free with a cash balance of over …

Mentioning the commissioning of a dedicated freight corridor, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), reports that India’s logistics sector looks stable in financial year 2021-22 as a recovering economy builds demand. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was among ports that reported resilient volumes in FY21. Ind-Ra estimates an 8 per cent year-on-year improvement in volumes for Indian ports in FY22, compared to an estimated 4 per cent year-on-year decline in FY21. The 8 per cent year-on-year rise will be led by private ports, which in five years have displayed a median multiplier (vs real GDP growth rate) of 1.4x, thus outperforming growth from major ports. India’s ports volumes closely follow the country’s GDP growth, with container growth coming in 2x of overall cargo volumes. For inland container depot/container freight station operators, Ind-Ra forecasts a healthy pickup in volumes though competition remains intense and realisations remain soft. The reduced dwell time after the commissioning of Dedicated Freight Corridor and increased double stacking volume will support higher operating efficiencies, which is likely to support EBITDA margins in FY22-FY23. For warehouses, Goods and Services Tax led consolidation and rationalisation of occupancy rates could continue in FY22.

According to ports’ apex body the Indian Ports Association (IPA), India’s top-12 ports witnessed considerable decline in cargo traffic for the 11th straight month in February to 600.62 million tonnes (MT). Cargo traffic at 12 major ports that are under the control of the Centre dropped by 6.61 per cent to 600.62 million tonnes (MT) during April-February this fiscal, compared with 643.10 MT in the year-ago period, IPA said in its latest report. All ports, barring Paradip and Mormugao — which recorded 0.27 per cent and 30.93 per cent increase in cargo handling to 102.90 MT and 19.28 MT respectively, saw negative growth. Cargo handling at Kamrajar Port (Ennore) nosedived 23.29 per cent during April-February to 22.23 MT, while ports like Mumbai and VO Chidambaranar saw their cargo volumes dropping by over 12 per cent during the said period. Cochin and Chennai ports suffered a sharp decline of about 10 per cent. JNPT saw a decline of 8.06 per cent in cargo volumes, while Deendayal Port Trust and Kolkata ports logged an over 6 per cent drop in cargo volume. Cargo handling at New Mangalore and Visakhapatnam slipped 5.30 per cent and 4.87 per cent, respectively. India has 12 major ports under the control of the central government — Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, sharp declines were witnessed in the handling of containers, coal and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant), among other commodities. These ports handle about 61 per cent of the country’s total cargo traffic. They handled 705 MT of cargo last fiscal. Ports, Shipping and …

India has supplied the second shipment of equipment to Chabahar port in Iran. “Continuing with our commitment to develop Chabahar Port, second shipment of equipment reaches Shahid Behesti Terminal,” informs, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways, Government of India, in a tweet. In January, India had supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port, having a total contract value of over US$ 25 million. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties. Last month, Ports, Waterways and Shipping (MoPWS) Additional Secretary Sanjay Bandopadhyaya had said two more cranes are standing for loading near the port near Venice, which will reach by March-end to the Chabahar port. He had said two more cranes will be supplied to the port by June-end. Bandopadhyaya said after mobile harbour cranes are delivered, there are plans to procure rail-mounted cranes for which bidding is going on. Till January 31, 2021, about 123 vessels had berthed at the terminal and approximately 13,752 TEUs and 18 lakh tonnes of bulk/ general cargo had been handled there. The bilateral contract between Iran and India was signed on May 23, 2016 with a total value of US$ 85 million ‎for equipping, mechanising and starting operations at the port under the first phase. In this regard, a special purpose vehicle — India Ports Global (IPGL), Mumbai — was incorporated under the shipping ministry.

For Indian trade, 2020 was a year dominated by unprecedented challenges, irregular manufacturing and buying patterns, disrupted trade environments and lack of predictability. With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the world in a staggered manner and in varying proportions, the impact on containerised trade was felt the most in Q2 / 2020 when exports contracted by 34%. As societies began to find ways to coexist with COVID-19, trade started recovering in the second half. Exports ramped up sharply in Q3, not only recovering from Q2 slump, but even increased by 14% year on year, however the economic impact on consumers led to substantially lower imports, which dropped by 28% as compared to the same period of 2019. The last quarter of the year showed growth in both imports and exports, thus making solid strides towards returning to normalcy. Demand for Indian exports across multiple categories continues to remain exceptionally strong, much of it driven by consumer demand in North America and Europe. Steve Felder, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, said “Despite unprecedented challenging conditions, stakeholders across supply chains – from manufacturers to consumers, from Government bodies to logistics enablers – all stood up cautiously to fight the pandemic. Without the contribution from all the moving parts in the complex machinery of global trade, the path back to normalcy would not have been possible.”

As the government is working on a new multi-modal national logistics policy, the Container Freight Stations Association (CFSes Association), whose members have been finding their going tough since 2016, has said CFSes should be allowed handle more logistics services, especially domestic cargo, so that their idling space can be gainfully engaged. According to the association, the 160-odd CFSes across the ports have been operating at around 40 per cent capacity on one hand, and on wafer thin margins on the other, as most containers are directly delivered to consignees now. With the increased DPD (direct port delivery) and various Customs-initiated reforms like RMS (risk management systems), almost all the CFSes remain largely underutilised. They are currently functioning at around 40 per cent of their functional capacity, Umesh Grover, Secretary-General, Container Freight Station Association. He said earlier as much as 70 per cent of containarised imports were through CFSes, which after the DPD began in 2016, is down to a paltry 25 per cent now. Over 50 per cent of all imports are through DPD facility today which has massively brought down delays and cost for importers, he said, but was quick to add that there is also a problem of over capacity of CFSes, with 160 stations now. Each CFS has can handle 500 TEUs of cargo. Another reason for the losing business is the introduction of RMS by the Customs, which as taken away 60 per cent of the non-DPD business. Under the RMS regime, as much as 60 per cent of the shipments do not need Customs clearance. Then there is the issue of fees which have just halved from Rs 10,000 per day to under Rs 5,000 …

On the heels of its recent acquisition of Ocean Insights, project44 has announced the availability of its free port visibility reporting service, Port Intel™. Free for a limited time, Port Intel is an online service that provides subscribers with free reports that summarise port congestion, inform them when their containers are anchored near congested ports, and help them make critical inventory and management decisions. Port Intel is powered by Ocean Insights from project44. “The impact of oceanic bottlenecks on the global economy is staggering,” said Jett McCandless, Founder and CEO of project44, in adding, “Given the critical nature of the port blockages, we released Port Intel as a service to enable global shippers to identify where the delays are occurring and how they can mitigate delays and avoid future crises. Just days after closing our acquisition, it was amazing to see the p44 and Ocean Insights teams move quickly to integrate our solutions and deliver Port Intel.” As the global economy rebounds from COVID-19, virtually every business is impacted in some way by disruptions in international shipping, with port delays, lack of capacity, container shortages, and other imbalances all wreaking havoc on trade. With so much at stake, Port Intel is a timely solution for frustrated supply chain professionals. Port Intel helps them assess the status of their shipments and supply chain, allowing for proactive planning and risk mitigation. Users can access the report by visiting the Port Intel site and entering vessel identifiers, bill of lading identifiers or ocean container numbers. Using these details, Port Intel generates customized updates that include projected time out and port dwell times. The reports are curated by project44’s visibility experts to provide recommendations …

To facilitate assessment of containers requirement as well its fulfilment, FIEO has developed a first level marketplace wherein exporters can post their container demands online. The e-module will help in ground level assessment of containers required in the country while simultaneously enabling the exporting community to negotiate competitive quotes for their requirements. The web link has been made live and exporters across the country have started posting their container requirement for various origin-destination pairs. The containers requirement uploaded through the e-module are also made visible to shipping lines, freight forwarders or others so that they can express their interest to fulfil such demands. This will also help them to better assess the demand of containers in the country so as to meet it with repositioning of containers or bringing empties. The e-module will also address the issue of container shortage reported by exporters, affecting their shipments and pulling down country’s exports and claims made by shipping lines that they are fully equipped to provide containers between 1-3 days at all locations for all destinations except for few destinations in Africa as congestions and berthing of ships at these destinations is taking 8-10 days’ time.